MUSIC moves MIND.

I was walking from the final office bus stop to my house at night. Like always, i was plugged to my music. A lone man walking at night. At some distance i see a house decorated with lights. The light bulbs, of different colors, were placed in parallel lines. With a particular song which was running [argghhh.... i can't remember the song], i just, for an instant, travelled back in time with visual glimpses from the past clouding my mind till i crossed that house.

The glimpses were of the decorated christmas trees that i used to see near my aunt's house when I was a kid. This particular place i.e my aunt's place, has lot of christian families. I used to wait for the day of christmas whenever i realised the month was december. For one, there was food, confectionaries and they were in plenty and another, there was this sense that built up inside that i belonged to that place, the eternal peace i used to find whenever i visited that place, the familiar and friendly faces to greet everytime i was there. There is a hospital near by which used to put up christmas trees with dangling christmas cards and covered with lights, clay dolls placed in small dens or placed over a small area, depicting stories. I was taken to the place by my dad or uncle. At times the entire family used to visit the place.

As I think of it now and that night when i walked past the decorated house, the whole place gives me a sense of security, pleasure, comfort. The security is not in a way that I would be attacked or smacked but it's like the way that there's someone to make you feel connected, important, liked even though you feel you dont need it. The place gives it all to you. That's what's so beautiful. I don't have to say it to anybody or express anything the way I feel for that place. It's hard to describe. I think that is what 'belonging' is all about. Whenever there is a glimpse of the wonderful past you had, if given a chance, you want to get back there, and as fast as you could.

The musical cry of the cell phones.

I am and always have been hit by this question whenever a phone with ringtones of that of a song rings from phones of my colleagues, "Why do you have to add those songs as ringtones? " I have never understood the fascination for having songs as ringtones and never could understand why when there is a new song i've heard on TV has to become the ringtone the next week [probably if the guy is a nutcase he would have it the next day itself]. I mean what are these guys out to prove? Below are the few possible reasons going on in the perpertrators' mind that i could muster.
a) "I want to show others that i'm in touch with modernity" [This guy needs to wake up]
b) "That song is my favourite! Oh I love it so much" [what a song! really....... i swear on errr.......]
c) "People who haven't heard this song. Let them hear it." [This is one of the best forms of serving humanity]
d) "I don't know. I just got it from my friend because it was cool" [ugghhhh! Now someone definitely has to tell me what 'cool' means here.]

I damn all these guys who trouble me when i'm with peace in office. The tone that is very often heard these days is one from SRK's new movie "Rab ne bana de jodi". When a ringtone of that song goes off on a table somewhere in the office and which has the audacity to reach my ears, im reminded of the promo video which is currently aired on national channels and makes me say "No! not that atleast". From what appears from the video, it looks like our superstar hero wants to experience coolness in a more idiotic way. I guess movie start in the age of 40 tend to have fun being an idiot. Not to forget to mention, tom cruises' bizzarre way of professing his love for katie holmes in one of oprah winfrey's show which made news for which he also confessed recently stating that he should have handled it in better way ["Love makes you blind! guess it does."]. So getting back to our super hero SRK, he seems to be trying awful lot of things with his new styles and bikes and trying to attain that hunk look. The same tried in his earlier home production movie "Om shanti Om" which, funnily, made good amount of cash [Marketing does a lot. i know i know. i hate marketing. I HATE IT]. I wonder how people end up watching such kind of movies [Well! i did watch it on TV]. I had a laugh when i watched it guess i should appreciate him for something and not for others because his movies makes me laugh and ridicule at the same time!

It's been a week for Mumbai.

It's been a week since the terrorists unleashed their terror on civilians of mumbai, killing 179 people and injuring many more who are recovering from serious wounds. The "spirit of mumbai" is less spoken off and the demand to see actions and justice is seen more. The "chalta rahega", "baad me dekengey" attitude has striken.

I have been watching the news channels for updates ever since the tragedy struck the "maximum city". There are more controversies picked up everyday than the dire need of the hour - solutions.....practical solutions for preventing another terrorist attack. Swift actions taken now by the govt. of india, in response to the anger of people and more so with the future election dangling. Pressurized politicians resigning in the wake of the event for their inefficiency in handling events and they never are short of peoples' expectations when it comes to 'public' work. Politicians not sensing what to speak at this hour of crisis with remarks ranging from 'lipsticks' by a senior leader of the opposition party to insulting statements from chief minister of a state who was refused to let into a martyr's house, to a casual remark on the terrorist incidence by the deputy CM of the tragedy struck state. These are the kind of people who have been elected to rule and have their final say on laws to make public life better.